Islam

Muslims and the prophet Muhammad

I. Introduction

A. For most of the history of the U. S. the Islamic faith has not been had a significant presence in our country. We have not had to deal with this culture significantly over the centuries. That is changing. With the advent of oil dollars into the middle East, the spread of that culture accelerated greatly. Certain other cultural factors have contributed to its rise in our country. The result is Christians in America coming face to face with what is the 3rd largest religion in the world with over 1 billion followers worldwide and about 5 million in the U. S.

B. Who are these people and what is their religion about? The events of Sept. 11 and following have brought to the foreground this religion. Christians need to be aware of it and prepare themselves to defend their Lord and His Word from the false charges made by this religion. We are facing it more and more and should be ready to teach these people to truth.

C. The term Islam literally means “to submit.” Those who practice Islam are called Muslims or Moslems. Let’s examine this religion and make some observations about it and its teachings.

D. It origins go back 1400 years or about 500 after Jesus Christ lived. It begins in the Arabian peninsula (modern Saudi Arabia) with the birth of its founder - Muhammad.

II. Birth of Muhammad - 570-71 AD

A. Son of a merchant in Mecca in the Arabian peninsula.

B. As an adult believes he hears voice of angel Gabriel revealing the will of “Allah” to him.

C. His message spread slowly at first and his followers were persecuted, some fleeing to Ethiopia.

D. Leaders in Mecca & Medina later accept his teachings (ca. 621-22) and Muhammad’s influence grows quickly.

E. Religion changes to one spread by intimidation and force.

F. Muhammad’s teachings are collected in the book called the Kuran’. There is also a collection of writings that describe the practices of Muhammad and is used to show how he applied his teachings. It is also considered authoritative for how one lives.

III. Following Muhammad’s death - 632 AD

A. Muhammad’s companions rule – the first Caliph’s (successor to the prophet).

B. Entire Arabian peninsual subjugated within 2 years. Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt & Persia soon subjugated.

C. Eventually spread into Europe, Africa & Asia.

D. Becomes the Ottoman Empire which lasted till early 20^th century.

E. Today claims 1/5 of world’s population.

F. Abut 5 million followers in U.S.

IV. Basic Doctrines of Islam

A. The Five Basic Articles of Faith

1. The doctrine of the unity of God --There is no god, no divine being, but Allah. The Bible doctrine of the trinity is heresy to a Muslim

2. The doctrine of Prophethood -- In different ages Allah sends prophets with his message. Muslims recognize Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other Bible characters as prophets. Mohammed, however, is Allah's final prophet to man. His word alone can be trusted. They say the words of the other prophets have been corrupted by man.

3. Doctrine of the Book -- Each prophet sent from God is given a book. The Koran is the last of these books and contains the final revelation from Allah.

4. Doctrine of Final Judgment -- There are some basic similarities to biblical eschatology here. The doctrine includes teachings on heaven, hell, a day of judgment, and a resurrection.

5. Doctrine of Angels and Jinns -- Muslims believe angels are spirit beings that serve God. Jinns are also spirit beings but some have rebelled against God. Jinns are mortal and eat, drink, and propagate just like man. Today we call this fabled being a "genie."

A. The Five Basic Articles of Practice

1 The witness ("There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger").

2. Prayers, five times a day.

3. Giving or charity. Includes supporting the faith

4. Fasting. Especially during the month of Ramadan

5. The pilgrimage to Mecca or Hajj.

i. At Mecca (Makkah) is the Ka’ba - the place of worship Muslims believe God commanded Abraham and Ishmael to build over 4000 years ago. It is constructed of stone on what they believe was the original site of a sanctuary established by Adam. They believe God commanded Abraham to summon all mankind to visit this place.

ii. The Kaba stone was a pagan place of worship centuries before Muhammad and was surrounded by the idols of the many tribes of the Arabian peninsula. All tribes came to Mecca to worship at the shrine and were doing so in Muhammad’s day. It was Muhammad who changed the purpose of the pilgrimmage to Mecca from one to worship pagan gods to worshipping the one god Allah.

V. Problems with Islam - They are pretty obvious for the Christian.

A. Islam questions the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible.

1. They accept all the arguments made by modern liberal scholars against the inspiration and reliability of the scriptures. (Of course, they seem to fail to see most of the same arguments can be made against the reliability of the Koran. It is, however, forbidden in Islam to critically examine the text of the Quran for inaccuracies or contradictions.)

2. Anyone who says that Muslims accept the Bible are mistaken. They do believe that the message of the Biblical prophets was from God but that it has been corrupted over the centuries to fit Jewish or Christian theology. They accept the Old and New Testaments only so far as it doesn’t contradict with the Koran. Thus, most of the Bible will be rejected as inaccurate and corrupted.

3. An example of this is their belief that the fulfillment of the promises God made to Abraham in Genesis 12 are actually fulfilled in his son Ishmael and not in his son Isaac. They believe the text has been corrupted by Jews who slanted it to favor them.

B. Islam rejects the divinity of Jesus.

I. They believe Jesus was a prophet but cannot accept that He is God. They do not believe in the Trinity (Father, Son, H.S.) but believe in the single divine personality of “Allah.” Thus Jesus cannot be accepted as divine.

C. Islam claims that Muhammad was prophesied in the Bible.

1. Passages such as Deut. 18:15-19 (cf. Acts 3:21-23), Isaiah 42:1-8,11, John 14-16 are said to speak of Muhammad.

i. Isaiah 42 - v.11 “Kedar” named after a descendant of Abraham thru Ishmael, thus speaking of the “elect” or “chosen” one being an Arab. They strengthen this by pointing back to vs. 1 and showing that “Elect” or “Chosen” in Arabic (Mustafa) is a name for Muhammad.

a. Answer - “Kedar” not said to be home of the elect or chosen one. Also, the term is not used in vs. 11 as a proper name but as a description. Cf. the reference in vs. 3 to the one under discussion as a “bruised reed.” That is not a name of the prophesied one but a description.

2. John 14:26 - The “Advocate” or “Comforter” in Greek language is paracletos. A similar Greek word is paraclutos which in Arabic is Faragleet, one of the descriptive terms of Muhammad. They also say “Holy Spirit” is 14:26 is an added interpolation by a scribe and originally in parentheses.

i. Answer - No evidence of wrong word being used - no alternalte readings use the word paraclutos. Also no alternate readings for the passage that eliminates the phrase “Holy Spirit.” (B. F. Westcott). Also there was not punctuation in the Greek so “Holy Spirit” could not have been in parentheses.

D. Other observations

3. It is a religion spread by force.

i. The term jihaad literally means to strive or struggle. Many Muslims point out its use in the Koran to describe one’s own personal struggle toward purity and godliness. It is used that way a few times. But it is most often used to describe a holy war for the cause of Islam. That cannot be denied. Almost from its inception Islam has been a religion spread by military might and intimidation. It is historical fact. The most radical Muslims believe that all other religions must be forcibly overcome and eradicated.

ii. Radicals like Usama bin Laden see the actions of Sept. 11 as part of a holy war to bring down the great Satan - the United States and its decadent culture.

4. It is a deeply divided religion. This has been true for centuries. There is no unity among those who practice Islam. Some even war against each other.

i. The largest sect among them is the Sunni’s or Sunnites. It is usually the more moderate.

ii. The second most influential is the Shiites. They are much more conservative and often radical. Those who overthrew the Shah of Iran (led by the Ayatollah Khomeni) were Shiites. Bin Laden and his cohorts are of another extremely radical sect called Wahhabi that had its beginning in Saudi Arabia in the 1700’s. They call for the most radical and conservative of reforms (theocracy, total subjugation of women, rejection of any thing they regard as coming from western culture, and holy war against the pagans).

iii. Muslims who disapprove of what bin Laden did are probably more of the Sunni sect. Others who disapprove of his actions nonetheless agree with his philosophical beliefs that the US is the great Satan and western culture should be eradicated.

5. In truth it is a religion that cannot consistently co-exist with Christianity despite what many of its leaders say. If in the position of power its leaders almost always show little if any tolerance for other religions.

VI. Our responsibility

A. Defend our faith by teaching the truth of the Bible - Do not be afraid of teaching that Islam is a false religion and learn why it is false.

B. Take advantage of the opportunities you have to teach them the truth. Some may be dissatisfied with Islam right now because of recent events and may be interested in studying.

C. Act as a Christian before these people. They must see the one true God as one who does not teach His followers to do evil to others but who love their enemies and are interested in their souls.